My Email To Chairman Bernanke

Below you will see a copy of my email that I sent to Chairman Bernanke based on an April 7, 2010 news report in the Wall Street Journal entitled Bernanke Says U.S. Should Tackle Debt.

Did I expect him to respond? No. Why should I? He probably receives thousands daily and probably has a staff solely dedicated to reading his email. However, I was hoping, albeit remotely, someone from his office would respond. Anybody can talk the talk, but few will truly walk the walk.

I put my money where my mouth is; I just ran out of money (please see post below). However, I plan to keep walking and may be even start running. I may also be tilting at wind mills, but DAMN IT!, if we do not change, then a CRISIS will force us to change.

What we are currently experiencing is not a crisis. I realize and understand for those unemployed, it definitely is, but for our nation it is not. I plan to explore this topic in greater detail in a future post.

If Chairman Bernanke is truly serious about our debt - beyond just trying to ensure he pacifies owners of our debt (wink, wink - China) - then how hard is it for him to direct his staff to take some actions. With a little brainstorming, a few great ideas could pop out. My suggestions are:

1. Put together a one page talking paper for the masses which:

A. Can be easily consumed (not written to an 8^th grade level, but a 4^th grade level);

B. Highlights the challenges associated with our debt;

C. Highlights how we, as nation, may reduce our debt; and

D. Can be easily found and downloaded from the Federal Reserve website or sent to people in response to their emails;

2. Arrange to go to all the lobbyist firms and trade associations to help them see - requires a little salesmanship - the benefit(s) to their respective industries by supporting politicians that are committed to reducing the debt (currently politics is primarily about the money and we have allowed the these organizations to have too much sway over our elected officials, another future post);

3. Work with K-12 education groups to start promoting a better understanding of a sound fiscal policy (our children will bear the true cost of our debt; so should not we prepare them to handle it? – another future post); and

4. The list could go on.

I/we do not need Chairman Bernanke to perform some of the above-mentioned items. I/we can do it our selves. Even though I need to focus on my business and family as you probably would prefer doing, I am making time to work on this matter because I believe it to be of utmost importance. Hopefully, I can help you convince yourself and others of the same. Please read the September 4, 2009 opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by John Fund for a possible start.

Copy of email to Chairman Bernanke:

Dear Chairman Bernanke:

Thank you for commenting yesterday on the challenges associated with our national debt.

I wholeheartedly applaud you for doing so.

However, I believe you cannot mention once and move on.

I strongly encourage that you pound the table daily on this matter.

We did not get here overnight nor will we get out of our mess overnight. I believe the only way our elected officials will tackle the debt is when those that help them get elected realize that it is important. The only way that will happen is if someone, such as you, makes it his or her mission to constantly sound the alarm.

I recently attempted a run for Congress as a citizen candidate primarily for this reason, but due to lack of funds I ended my campaign. The following link to my blog, http://flcd-3.blogspot.com/, highlights my short-lived, but enlightening campaign.

I would like to help you help our nation tackle this issue, please let me know how I may assist you.

Best,

James Gilman

What's Up Doc?

If you have read this post and want to see the most recent then click here (at the rate I have been posting lately, it could be one and the same, lol).

You may have been redirected to this blog by visiting www.votegilman.com. Please read the following to have a better understanding why I ended my campaign to represent Florida’s 3rd US Congressional District. I thank all my supporters and hope each of you will continue to follow this blog.

 

I suspect you may be wondering where I have been for the past three months. Well, I encountered several challenges that essentially culminated in late December 2009/early January 2010. As a result, I thought it would be prudent and financially sound for me to focus on my business, which I had neglected because I thought it could run on autopilot.

 

To best understand the challenges, I need to be more forthcoming on whom I am and what I originally sought to accomplish with this blog.

 

Who is James?

First, I am married to a beautiful bride and have 2 wonderful and adoring children. Professionally, I am a financial analyst, but have had held other varied positions in my 20 year career. I have always had a sense of civic pride and most everything I have done has been to build skill-sets with which to one day seek public office; however, I did little in those 20 years to be politically active, which in hindsight was a mistake that will be shown painfully clear below.

 

Why Blog?

In October 2008 at the height of the last election cycle, I decided I would seek federal office because I was and still am concerned about the direction our government and nation is heading (a post for another day). I started this blog in August 2009 as a way to document what I was learning about the citizens and issues of District 3. I thought the blog could be one way to gain people’s trust and confidence that I am qualified to represent the District in Washington. It had always been my intention to have a formal campaign website, but until it was built, I decided to use this blog as a surrogate.

 

Was There a Plan?

When I made the decision in late 2008 to run, I built a plan with the help of trusted advisers to accomplish my goal. One thing the plan required was for me to become self-employed so I would have greater control over my schedule. After landing one contract and working on landing another, I became self-employed in January 2009. Concurrently, I attempted to build-out a campaign organization. I knew I did not know much about running a campaign. I thought 2 years would be enough time to learn and recover from the mistakes I may make; however, I now know differently.

 

Money, Stupid!

A campaign is like a start-up. No!; a campaign is a start-up and here I was attempting to get 2 start-ups off the ground during one of the worst economic downturns we have experienced in several decades. While starting a new venture and building a campaign organization during an economic downturn may not be the wisest move, I was and continue to be a firm believer that anyone with a positive mental attitude can accomplish almost anything in reason.

 

However, in my case, my optimistic assumptions were tested and some if not most were proven wrong:

1. My business started slow and some contracts never materialized;

2. Donations for the campaign were extremely hard to come by;

3. I attracted few volunteers and some that I attracted would never start or would quit a day later;

4. The economy failed to take off; and

5. The list goes on.

 

The painful reality of my challenges hit in late 2009. I had collected little in donations to pay the approximate $11,000 fee to get on the ballot, so I started in earnest early December collecting signed petitions. I woefully underestimated the challenge and the costs involved (I would have known if I had participated in other campaigns previously). I quickly calibrated my plan, but I would have to invest most of my time in the field, which meant neglecting my business. I was not too worried; I still had one contract that would come through soon and as a result everything would be okay.

 

Murphy’s Law Still Applies

Well, Murphy of Murphy’s Law paid a visit. I received new information on MLK day that the above mentioned contract would not materialize anytime soon if it would materialize at all. While my family had been very supportive over the past year and I am sure they would have continued to be, I personally came to the conclusion that my family needed me to focus on my business. I just could not campaign about financial stability when my family was not financially stable. I had put us at risk; I had loaned money that we really did not have to the campaign and there was no guarantee I would get on the ballot. I had to stop the bleeding so I could fight another day. As such, I stopped actively seeking petitions and stopped actively fundraising. Now that the qualifying period is coming to an end, I can say with certainty that I will not be on the ballot.

 

Life Is Not Worth Living If You Do Nothing With It

Looking back on the last several months, I fell into a serious funk after I made the decision to stop actively campaigning. The past year has been fun; there is nothing more exhilarating than pursuing one’s dreams and aspirations. I encourage all people to chase theirs.

 

I will most likely run for office again, but priorities require me to focus on providing for my family, which I truly look forward to doing. In the meantime, I will continue to post to this blog because I have learned a lot. You would be the judge, but I believe this knowledge and insight could help District 3, Florida and our nation. So, stay tuned.